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Homer's grand tale begins with an overarching outline of ruin and survival. The poem chronicles Odysseus's protracted effort to return to Ithaca after the Trojan War while gods intervene in human destinies. His companions fall to their own folly, leaving him isolated across hostile waters. Back home, opportunistic suitors consume his estate, setting the stage for a dangerous homecoming.
The Odyssey
Samuel Butler argues that converting ancient epic verse into readable prose requires creative liberties to maintain narrative vigor. He outlines his controversial theory that the work originated in Trapani, Sicily, rather than mainland Greece. Furthermore, Butler proposes that a young woman modeled after Nausicaa composed the poem. Translating poetry line-for-line often produces stiff, unreadable prose, making adaptability essential for modern comprehension.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION
Henry Festing Jones details the posthumous republication and formatting adjustments of Butler's translation. The updated edition corrects earlier typographical oversights while maintaining faithful pagination for scholars. Slight shifts in translated imagery reveal how subtle adjustments alter character perspective and tone. Editorial care ensures that contentious historical hypotheses remain accessible to modern readers without altering the translator's original voice.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
Mount Olympus becomes the battleground for Odysseus's destiny when Athena petitions Zeus to end his long exile on Calypso's island. Poseidon remains hostile, but the gods agree to grant the hero a path home. Athena disguises herself and descends to Ithaca to inspire young Telemachus to assert himself. Telemachus finds his palace overrun by greedy suitors who waste his inheritance while disdaining ancient hospitality.
BOOK I
Telemachus summons the assembly of Ithaca to publicly denounce the suitors occupying his home and devouring his livestock. Antinous defends the suitors by revealing Penelope's trick of unweaving her father-in-law's shroud by night to stall remarriage. The town council remains passive, refusing to restrain the noble suitors despite clear signs of impending doom. Realizing speech alone cannot remedy his plight, Telemachus secretly equips a vessel to search for news of his father.
BOOK II
Guided by Athena in the guise of Mentor, Telemachus arrives in sandy Pylos during a massive sacrifice to Poseidon. King Nestor warmly receives the youth, modeling the sacred duty of hospitality to unknown strangers. While Nestor cannot confirm Odysseus's survival, he recounts the tragic and fragmented return of other Greek commanders from Troy. The old king provides his own son as a traveling companion, demonstrating how ancestral alliances strengthen young leaders.
BOOK III
Telemachus visits Menelaus and Helen in opulent Lacedaemon during a grand wedding feast. Menelaus recalls his own arduous wandering after the war and his encounter with the prophetic Proteus. Through Proteus, Menelaus confirms that Odysseus survives, held captive on an isolated island by the nymph Calypso. Meanwhile in Ithaca, the suitors discover Telemachus's voyage and lay an ambush in the sea straits to assassinate him upon his return.
BOOK IV
Hermes travels to Ogygia to order Calypso to release Odysseus from her enchanted island. Odysseus builds a makeshift raft, but Poseidon destroys it with a ferocious sea tempest, leaving the hero cast ashore naked and exhausted on Scheria. Athena directs Princess Nausicaa to wash linens near the beach, where she discovers the stranded stranger. Odysseus uses clever diplomacy to win her aid without offending her modesty or provoking local gossip.
BOOK V → BOOK VI
Concealed by Athena's miraculous mist, Odysseus walks undetected into the lavish palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete. He throws himself upon the mercy of the queen, seeking a safe passage back to his homeland. Alcinous welcomes the mysterious stranger to his table, marveling at his noble posture and respectful eloquence. The Phaeacian rulers promise to provide a swift ship, unaware that their guest is the legendary commander of Troy.
BOOK VII
King Alcinous gathers the Phaeacian citizens to arrange an escort and honor their mysterious guest with games and feasting. During the banquet, the blind bard Demodocus sings of the Trojan War and the famous quarrel between Greek chieftains. Hearing his own past celebrated in song, Odysseus conceals his face beneath his cloak and weeps bitterly. After Odysseus demonstrates superior strength in athletic contests, Alcinous urges him to finally reveal his true identity.
BOOK VIII
Odysseus reveals his name to the Phaeacians and narrates his disastrous early adventures after departing Troy. After raids on Ismarus and the seductive tranquility of the Lotus-eaters, his fleet reaches the cavern of the lawless Cyclops Polyphemus. Trapped inside as his crew is devoured, Odysseus blinds the giant with a sharpened stake and escapes beneath the bellies of rams. His proud boastful taunt as he sails away invites Poseidon's relentless curse upon his journey.
BOOK IX
King Aeolus gifts Odysseus a leather bag confining the treacherous winds, but mutinous crewmates open it thinking it holds gold, blowing them backward. They next encounter the giant Laestrygonians, who destroy eleven ships and slaughter their crews. Arriving on Circe's island, Odysseus's remaining men are transformed into swine by her potent enchantment. With Hermes's protective herb, Odysseus resists her magic, frees his men, and secures directions to the underworld.
BOOK X
Journeying to the edge of the world, Odysseus pours blood offerings to summon the spirits of the underworld. The blind prophet Teiresias warns him of Poseidon's wrath and predicts the mortal danger awaiting his crew at the island of the Sun. Odysseus speaks with his deceased mother, learning of her grief, and meets fallen commanders like Agamemnon and Achilles. These encounters reinforce that renown in life yields to cold silence in death.
BOOK XI
Returning briefly to Circe, the crew receives explicit warnings about the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. Odysseus plugs his men's ears with wax and binds himself to the mast so he may hear the Sirens' mesmerizing song safely. Choosing the lesser evil, he steers past the six-headed monster Scylla, losing six men to save the ship from Charybdis's whirlpool. Driven by hunger on Thrinacia, his crew slaughters the Sun-god's cattle, triggering a storm that drowns everyone except Odysseus.
BOOK XII
Deeply moved by Odysseus's story, the Phaeacians shower him with rich gifts and convey him home on a swift ship. They leave him sleeping peacefully on the shores of Ithaca before Poseidon turns their returning ship into stone as punishment. Athena greets Odysseus in disguise, revealing the dangerous situation in his palace and transforming his appearance into an aged beggar. This divine disguise allows him to scout his home without alerting the murderous suitors.
BOOK XIII
Disguised as a ragged beggar, Odysseus seeks shelter with Eumaeus, his faithful swineherd who remains fiercely loyal to his lost master. Eumaeus offers warm hospitality and shares news of the suitors' destructive arrogance, unaware of his guest's true identity. Meanwhile, Athena travels to Lacedaemon to urge Telemachus to sail home immediately and evade the ambush waiting in the straits. Telemachus lands safely on Ithaca's coast and makes his way directly to Eumaeus's rustic shelter.
BOOK XIV → BOOK XV
Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus's hut and treats the disguised stranger with gentle kindness and generosity. When Eumaeus leaves to inform Penelope of her son's safe return, Athena temporarily restores Odysseus to his true majestic form. Father and son weep together in an emotional embrace before devising a precise plan to eradicate the suitors. Odysseus instructs Telemachus to hide all weapons in the palace and endure any insults leveled at his disguised father.
BOOK XVI
Telemachus returns to the palace while Eumaeus guides the disguised Odysseus into the city. Along the trail, abusive servants insult the beggar, foreshadowing the suitors' rotten morals. Outside the palace gates, Odysseus's old hound Argos recognizes his master's voice after twenty years and dies peacefully. Inside the hall, the arrogant suitor Antinous hurls a footstool at Odysseus, shocking even the other suitors with his flagrant violation of guest rights.
BOOK XVII
A local beggar named Irus attempts to bully Odysseus away from the palace threshold, provoking laughter among the watching suitors. Antinous organizes a boxing match between the two beggars, offering a choice meat portion to the victor. Odysseus pulls up his rags, revealing powerful limbs, and strikes Irus with a single swift blow that shatters his jaw. Despite the demonstration of hidden power, the suitors return to their reckless foolishness, ignoring subtle warnings of divine retribution.
BOOK XVIII
Telemachus and Odysseus secretly clear all weapons from the main hall under cover of night. Penelope interviews the mysterious beggar, who provides credible details about her husband's past to give her hope. When old nurse Euryclea washes the stranger's feet, she recognizes a distinctive scar left by a boar's tusk during Odysseus's youth. Odysseus grips her throat to ensure her silence, while Penelope announces a contest with Odysseus's bow to select a husband.
BOOK XIX
Unable to sleep, Odysseus watches the housemaids sneak out to join the suitors, struggling to restrain his rage. Athena reassures him that divine protection will guarantee victory over his enemies despite their superior numbers. The next morning, loyal herders arrive, and positive omens from Zeus reassure Odysseus of coming justice. The suitors continue their rowdy banquet, hurling an ox foot at the beggar while a visiting seer foretells their impending slaughter in a horrific vision.
BOOK XX
Penelope retrieves Odysseus's heavy composite bow from the inner treasury and presents it to the suitors. She promises to marry whoever can string the weapon and shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads. Every suitor fails to even bend the stiff wood, while Odysseus reveals his identity to his loyal herders outside. Returning inside, the disguised beggar easily strings the bow, sends an arrow cleanly through the axes, and stands ready for battle.
BOOK XXI
Shedding his rags, Odysseus shoots Antinous through the throat, initiating a violent hall battle. Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius join Odysseus, locking the doors and securing armor while Athena deflects incoming spears. The suitors are trapped and systematically cut down without mercy for their years of treason and abuse. After the slaughter, treacherous servant maids are forced to scrub the bloody cloisters clean before being executed, purifying the ancestral hall.
BOOK XXII
Euryclea awakens Penelope with news of victory, but Penelope remains cautious until testing Odysseus with secret knowledge of their immovable olive-tree bed. Her lingering doubt turns to tears of joy upon his correct explanation, reuniting the royal couple at last. Hermes leads the suitors' squealing spirits down to Hades, where Agamemnon praises Penelope's immortal fidelity. Odysseus visits his aging father Laertes, and Athena intervenes to establish a lasting peace with the suitors' vengeful relatives.
BOOK XXIII → BOOK XXIV
A hero journeys home across treacherous seas while his family resists ruin.